Though the volume of his voice wasn't especially loud the authority it held made up for it. Matt moved further into the saloon, followed by Doc. Scowling at each man in turn, Matt finally settled his gaze on Rucker. "Alright, what's this all about?"

Kitty took a deep grateful breath and quickly went to his side. "That man there and Mr. Riser and Burke were wanting me to throw an old man out into the snow. I refused."

"Throw… why?" Matt frowned.

"Cause they think he's sick." Kitty answered as she looked at Doc. But she didn't have to say a word as Doc was already moving in old Mr. Garner's direction.

"Yeah, Matthew." Festus got up from the floor and quickly pushed Rucker back when he too tried to rise. "That yahoo there, was gonna try and force Miss Kitty to do what he said, Matthew. I was jes makin' sure they didn't."

"What's your name, Mister?" Matt scowled at the man when he finally gained his feet.

"My name is Rucker." The man scowled at Festus and Kitty as well as Matt. "I was only voicing my opinion and asserting my rights to…"

"I've already told you, that you didn't have any rights in here." Kitty put in. "This is my bar, Mr. Rucker."

"That's right." Matt agreed. "And this is my town which means you get to be my guest in the jail."

"You… you can't arrest me. I've haven't done anything." Rucker protested.

"How about threatening a business owner and disturbing the peace." Matt asked.

"I… I didn't threaten her." Rucker's voice grew high and tinny. "I just wanted what was right for all of us. And… and besides, that… storm out there is…"

"Is just about over." Matt answered.

"Really?" Kitty's eyes widened.

"Yeah, winds still going, but it's stopped snowing and you can see where you're going now." Matt looked at Festus and then his arm. "You okay?"

Festus glanced at the bloody bandage on his arm. "What? This? Awe, it ain't nuthin' but a scratch, Matthew."

"Good." Matt nodded. "Then would you mind escorting Mr. Rucker here over to the jail? I'll be over later."

"I sure will, Matthew. Be glad to." He grinned at Rucker. "Come on, you."

"You… you can't arrest me!" Rucker sputtered. "I… I didn't do anything."

Matt stepped closer to him and grabbed the front of his shirt. "You irritated me and more importantly, you bothered her." Matt jerked a thumb in Kitty's direction. "Now to me, that's plenty to arrest you with. And if it's not, I'll think of something more later. Now you can go peaceably with Festus, or I can carry you over. Which will it be?"

Rucker didn't answer and before he could move away, Festus grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and shoved him towards the door.

"Festus," Kitty called after him. "The storm may be ending but it's still cold out there. Put your coat on and come back later for a drink."

"Yes'm." Festus nodded with a smile and grabbed his coat from the bar. "Burke, throw me this feller's coat."

Burke, grateful he wasn't going to the jail with Rucker, quickly complied. As he passed Matt and Kitty, he did his best to pretend he didn't see the looks they gave him.

Kitty looked up at Matt with a relieved smile. "I sure am glad to see you. Where did you disappear to?"

"Well, I knew you were worried about Doc and with Mrs. Tanner about to have that baby, I figured the best thing I could do was to go and find him."

Kitty shook her head. "So you took off in a blizzard?"

"Yeah." Matt nodded. "And as you can see, I found Doc. I got lucky too. I was heading out to the Ronnigers but the storm got too bad. So I stopped at a little farm just at the edge of town and found Doc there. He was almost to town when the storm struck and landed there too. Anyway, as soon as the storm abated, we came on into town."

Kitty tilted her head at him. "Did it ever dawn on you that by going out in that mess, it made me worry about you too?"

"Well, I know, Kitty." Matt shrugged. "But you were worried about Doc and well…"

"Come on, Cowboy." Kitty sighed with a smile. "I'll get you a drink."

Later on, when Festus returned to the saloon, he and Matt, along with the requisitioned aid of several others, helped every one they could to get back to their homes, if they had one.

The elderly Mrs. Garner along with Deakins, the gambler, was taken over to the undertakers. It was plain to see what killed Deakins, but it took Doc to explain Mrs. Garner's death. He'd been treating he for heart problems for some time and apparently the blizzard was the last straw. "She died of a heart attack." Doc took a thoughtfully sad swipe of his mustache. "I've been expecting that for a while now."

Most everyone else, except a few, had been moved over to the hotel, much to Howie's displeasure. But one look at Matt's face and he quickly found a way to house them.

Mr. Garner was at Doc's, where Doc took him after examining Maggie Tanner and her baby.

"Young Lady," Doc grinned at Kitty. "You did a darn fine job with that baby. Almost couldn't have done better myself."

"Almost?" Kitty arched a brow.

"Yep, almost." Doc nodded. "After all, I am the best doctor in Dodge, and everyone knows it."

The only people left at the Long Branch, now, were Matt and Kitty, Kitty's girls, the Tanners, the Raineys and Sam. Sam had planned on going back to his home but Kitty implored him to stay there where it was warm and she didn't have to worry about him. Willingly, Sam agreed and was sleeping comfortably on a cot near the downstairs stove.

The Rainey's who hadn't stepped foot outside of their borrowed room since they'd entered it, had had no idea of the many things that took place and didn't care. When Kitty knocked on their door to check on them, she found they were contently asleep in each other's arms. Kitty decided later would be time enough to get them food and what ever else they needed.

In the morning, Matt and Festus were going to collect some volunteers, willingly or not, and they would see what they could do about getting at least the sidewalks cleared and maybe even a path down the street for traffic. But that was in the morning. This was in the night, and Matt had other things on his mind.

TBC